25. The Deer Hunter (1978)

Easily the best film made about the psychological cost of America’s involvement in Vietnam, Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter also features some of the finest performances of the decade, including stunners by Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, John Cazale, and John Savage. Best of all, though, is Christopher Walken, as a man so shattered by combat that he becomes a zombie-eyed Russian Roulette casualty. A gut-punch of a film. —Chris Nashawaty